Give Her Ten
by mmmh-Hot-Sauce
Summary: Tara's the captain of the Crew Team and she is looking for some new recruits.  All feedback is welcome!
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Give Her Ten

AUTHOR: mmmh-Hot-Sauce

RATING: R ... May become NC-17 later

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, well, maybe one or two, but as for the rest of them, they are property of ME

SPOILERS: Completely AU

SUMMARY: Tara is the Captain of her College Crew Team and with the help of some friends, they look for new recruits.

FEEDBACK: I would be grateful for any and all comments.

**CHAPTER 1**

The grey fold out table positioned specifically by the main entrance of the cafeteria held a large tripode display board and two compact computers which played a slideshow on an endless loop. The three girls sitting behind the table looked less than thrilled to be sitting there as they watched an older man chase down one of their peers.

"This is pathetic," said the girl sitting in the middle, her arms crossed possessively across her chest as she leant back in her brown plastic chair. "He's screwing us over."

"Why can't he leave?" said the girl on the right. "Seeing him for three hours every afternoon should be more than enough."

"Alright girls, wane off," said the one on the left as she watched the slim girl turn down the man then storm off. "He's coming back."

"Gee, Zogg, you were so close," the snarky student sitting in the middle said with a smirk. "Maybe next time."

"I don't see you putting any effort forward Faith," the man said as he approached the table. Reaching his hand out, he pulled the open note book lying on the table towards him, turning it around in the process. "How many new recruits today?"

"Three." the girl sitting on the left spoke up. "Two girls and a guy."

"Any you think would make a good coxswain?" Zogg asked hopefully as he scanned the names on the list.

"I can't say as of yet," the woman admitted truthfully.

"Okay," he replied as he pushed the note pad back to the center of the table. "Keep me updated if you find one Tara."

"Sure thing, coach." Tara said with a nod to theirs coaches retreating form.

"Do you really think any of these girls can be a coxswain?" Faith asked optimistically as she pulled the notebook towards her.

"No. Not unless you want the stern of the boat to sink," the girl on the right said, a rhy grin plastered on her lips.

"Kate!" Tara scolded from the opposite side of the table.

"What Tara?" Kate said defensively. "It's true and Faith even agrees with me."

"T, these girls are great, and we are looking at what could possibly be a kick ass novice team here, but none of them cut it to Cox our varsity four." Faith stated, defending herself and the other captain in the process. "We need someone who's slim as fuck and weighs roughly a hundred and fifteen pounds soaking wet."

"We'll find the prefect Coxswain," Tara said reassuringly. "Don't worry."

"For our sake I sure hope so," Kate said glumly. "What with Sarah having graduated and our other two Coxswains designated to the novice and J.V teams we're S.O.L."

"S.O.L?" Tara asked confused, her eyebrows crinkling together in bewilderment.

"Shit outta luck," Faith replied helpfully, receiving a nod from Kate.

"And with Coach Hog royally screwing us over on every good possible Cox, I'm about to pull my hair out." Kate warned, her temper nearly reaching its boiling point.

"What number is that by the way?" Faith asked.

Grabbing the notebook back from the brunette, Tara flipped to the back of the pad. "That makes … eight."

"Of course it does," Faith said sarcastically. "Wake me up when this torture is over," she said fore lonely, dropping her head dramatically onto the plastic table.

"Tare, I'm gonna grab some lunch," Kate said as she slowly stood up. "You want me to bring you anything?"

Maybe an apple? Thanks Kate," Tara said with a genuine smile.

"No problem," Kate said with a smile of her own, walking around the table.

"Oh no, I'm good. But thanks for asking." Faith said mockingly, her head still buried in her folded arms.

"Sorry Faith, I thought you were sleeping." Kate said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," Faith waved off, lifting her head up slightly. She watched the brunette's slim form walk off into the cafeteria before another figure caught her attention. "Yo, T, look at the hottie over there." She nodded to a petite woman leaning up against the adjacent wall, typing fiercely on her flip phone.

"Nice sighting Faith," Tara said as she scooted her chair backwards, preparing to stand up.

"Whoa, whoa." Faith exclaimed, clamping her right hand around the blonde's left bicep. "Where do you think you're going Goggles Pizone?"

"Faith." Tara said in a warning tone.

"Nah-ah, T." Faith protested as she shoved the blonde back into her seat. Shuffling her own chair back so she could stand up with ease, "I spotted her so I get to talk to her."

Tara just shook her head in disbelief before throwing her hands up, giving her fellow Captain the go-ahead. She watched from her seat with a bemused smile as Faith leisurely approached the other girl, her award winning smile set in place. She stared intently for a few minutes, hoping against all odds that this un-named woman would agree to join the team, before loosing interest and casting her gaze elsewhere.

Two minutes later, the brunette returned to the fold out table, a cheesy smile plastered on her face. "Did she agree?" Tara asked excitedly.

"She sure did," Faith said with a smug smirk, kicking her leather boots up onto the table while unfolding a small sheet of paper with a number scribbled on it. "We're going out next Friday."

"Next Friday? What?" Tara asked confused, whipping her head back and forth from her friend to the spot where the girl was previously standing. "What about being our Coxswain?"

"Ah, no." Faith dismissed. "She doesn't have time. Something about Gymnastics … or Cheerleading. Some shit like that."

"Faith, you are impossible sometimes!" Tara said aggravated. "Next time I am doing the talking."

"Oh, and what makes you think you can do better?" Faith shot back, her right eyebrow raised high in question.

"Because, unlike you, I don't start out a conversation with a complete stranger with 'Hey, I bet you look great wet. Wanna join Crew?'" Tara huffed out, staring pointedly at her best friend.

"Well maybe you should," Faith snorted. "Maybe you'll finally get some digits and get a little bit of ass while you're at it."

"Faith, why are you always so crude?" Tara asked.

"Tara, why do you always have an oar up your ass?" Faith shot back as she re-read the phone number, imbedding it in her mind. "T, in all seriousness. People are going to say no to joining Crew no matter what. You'd have to be a complete whack job to want to get up at 4:30 every morning and row for three hours straight in the freezing cold. So why not have some fun with this recruiting?"

"Yeah," Tara admitted after a few seconds, a soft smile curving her lips. "I guess you're right."

"Damn right, I'm right." Faith said in triumph. "So, the next time a possible Coxswain comes along, I want you to say this…" she leant over to the blonde, whispering the statement in the head Captains ear.


	2. Chapter 2

TITLE: Give Her Ten

AUTHOR: mmmh-Hot-Sauce

RATING: R ... May become NC-17 later

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, well, maybe one or two, but as for the rest of them, they are property of ME

SPOILERS: Completely AU

SUMMARY: Tara is the Captain of her College Crew Team and with the help of some friends, they look for new recruits.

FEEDBACK: I would be grateful for any and all comments.

**CHAPTER 2**

"Faith!" Tara shrieked, pushing the brunette away from her. "I can't say that to someone."

"Oh come one T, live a little," Faith smirked as she repositioned herself on the chair.

"Faith, I cannot say 'Hey sexy, I bet you look good in a uni. Wanna test my theory and give me something to stare at as I lead my boat to victory' to a complete stranger."

Faith tried hard to stifle her laugher, "Yeah, out of you that does sound weird. Maybe you should stick with just asking people to join the good old fashion way."

Tara was about to respond but Kate reentering the lobby interrupted her train of thought.

"Hey, Tara, I didn't know what kind of apple you wanted so I got you one of both," said Kate as she strolled back to the table, a Granny Smith apple in her right hand and an Akane apple in her left.

"Thanks Kate," Tara said with a smile as she reached out for the green apple.

"Sure, no problem." Kate replied, a soft smile gracing her lips. Noticing the look Faith was giving her, she reached behind her into her back pocket. "Here Faith, I got you a banana… I know how much you love the shape."

Letting out a snort of amusement, the dark haired brunette accepted the gift with a nod. "Thanks Kate, I can always count on you to supply me with penis shaped foods."

"You bet sweetheart," Kate shot back with a toothy grin as she retook her position besides Faith. "So, anyone else sign up?"

"No," Tara said through a bite of her apple.

"But I did get some hotties number," Faith said enthusiastically as she unpeeled her banana. "All seven numbers and everything."

"Congrats," Kate said absently. "Hey Tare, it's one o'clock, you wanna pack this in?"

Letting out a huff of disappointment, "Yea, I have a class in fifteen minutes and I need to bring this stuff back to my room. " She stood up, twirling her computer around and booting it down.

"You need help?" Kate asked as she shut down her own computer.

"Nah, I got it. See you at practice Kate."

"Alright, bye guys."

"Hey T, let me get this," Faith said as she folded up the trifold. "I have to head to the room anyhow. Completely forgot my book for Commitment and Choice."

"Thanks Faith," Tara smiled, slinging her computer under her arm as she bent down to pick up her book bag. "So how's that class going?"

"You know, when I signed up for this class I thought it would be pretty boring. I thought it would be all about family and being committed to someone what with the title and everything." Faith proclaimed as she removed her dorm key from her front pocket. Inserting the key and stepping inside their shared, dimly lit dorm room. "But I was completely wrong. Last week, we had an hour long discussion just on different types of sexual activity. On Friday, we had a full lecture designed around porn, and the pleasures and wronging it brings to others."

"Sounds like your type of class," Tara laughed out as she placed her laptop on her neatly made bed.

"Oh, I think this class was created just for me," Faith joked as she walked over to her desk, lifting up a heavy paperback book.

"Well I'm running late." Tara admitted as she collected her supplies for class. "Catch you back her after class for practice?"

"Of course," Faith replied as she packed her own books into her backpack.

Heading to the door, Tara shouted out to her roommate and fellow Crew member. "See you at two forty."

Rushing down the hallway, Tara made a quick left, pushing open the heavy stairwell door and bounding down the staircase. As she was about to exit the staircase on the second floor, leading her into Column B Lecture Hall, she ran head first into an unknown girl rounding the corner at the same time.

"Ah, Shit." Tara swore as she landed painfully on her ass, her school work scattered around the floor, mingled together with the other girls. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry, I didn't hurt you did I?" She asked without looking up as she started collecting some of her fallen items.

"I'm okay," the other girl said as she rubbed her nose, her body sitting in a similar position as the blonde. "I'm sorry also, I shouldn't have been running." She said as she pushed herself up onto her knees, her eyes red rimmed with unshed tears as her nose throbbed in pain from colliding painfully against the other woman's chin. Whipping at her eyes, she looked up to finally get a good look at who she literally ran face first into, only to be halted by the veil of blonde hair shrouding the other woman's face.

"Sorry again," the girl said as she hastily scooped her text books and open binder into a pile before rushing off.

"It's o-" Tara said as she looked up, barely catching the sight of the girls retreating form, as flaming red hair disappeared around the corner. "kay."

By the time she reached her designated classroom, the door was already shut, indicating that class was in progress. "Crap," Tara muttered under her breath as she grasped the brass doorknob. Turning the device slowly, she pushed the door open gently, trying her hardest to not draw to much attention.

"Miss Maclay, you are late," admonished the middle aged professor as Tara stepped into the classroom, his hand poised near the chalkboard where he had been writing.

"Sorry, Professor Torres," Tara said with embarrassment as she made a b-line for the closest available desk, placing down her jumbled stack of papers.

"Now, if you are ready to join us Miss Maclay," Professor Torres huffed out as he watched the blonde fumble around with papers on her desk. "I would like to get back to explaining the components of 'The Dusky Standards'."

Stilling her hands that were positioning the papers back into order, she looked up at her ill-tempered teacher, giving him a slight nod and a forced smile.

"Good." Turning his back towards the classroom, Professor Torres resumed his lecture on Forensic Psychology and the competency levels to stand trial.

Once she was sure the teacher wasn't paying attention to her anymore, Tara went back to re-arranging the papers she had dropped on the floor. Halfway through the stack of papers, she came across an unfamiliar enrolment sheet and a thin paperback book, immediately concluding that the items belonged to the girl she ran into earlier. Pulling the single sheet of paper out of the stack, Tara examined the six upper level courses printed out in multiple colors before scanning the paper for a name. In tiny, type eight font on the top left hand side of the paper, she found the culprits name. "Willow Rosenberg?"

Placing the paper back on her desk, Tara looked up at her Professor who was still droning on about 'The Dusky Standard', before discreetly sliding her phone out of her pocket. Scrolling down through her contacts until she arrived at the Faith's name, she sent her a quick text. "Do you know of a Willow Rosenberg?"

"Who?" Faith sent back a few minutes later.

"Guess not, never mind." Tara quickly texted back before putting her phone back into her pocket.

For the remainder of class, Tara sat wondering who this mystery girl was and how she could find her in order to return her stuff. As soon as the clock hit 2:35, Tara gathered her items and started to head for the door.

"Miss. Maclay, a word please." Professor Torres called from his position near the chalkboard, halting Tara's exit and motioning for her to come over. Picking up an eraser, he started to wipe clean the board as he waited for the classroom to empty before returning his attention to Tara. "I do not give special privileges to athletes." He declared as he turned around to stare into the blondes deep blue eyes. "Crew or not, you will be in my class on time, or not at all." Placing the eraser back onto the lip of the board, he walked away from the blonde, leaving her speechless.

"Yo, T, you're running late." Faith hollered from her bed as Tara entered their shared dorm room.

"Yea I know," Tara said gruffly as she dropped everything in her hands onto her desk. "Torres completely chewed me out today."

"Damn, that sucks." Faith replied as she looked up from tying her shoes. "What about?"

"Being late," Tara said back as she walked over to her dresser. Pulling open the bottom drawer which housed all her sports clothing, Tara removed a pair of black spandex, blue jogging shorts, and a worn out yellow tee, along with a sports bra. "I mean I was barely late." Tara said as she placed her bundle of clothing on her bed. "Maybe two minutes! And he had to call me after class to tell me athletes don't receive special privileges from him. It was not like I was asking for anything, I was just late."

"Woe," was Faith's only response as she watched her friend stomp around the room in anger. "Tara chill. Brad Torres is a super dick and everyone knows it. Don't let him get to you."

"But he did, Faith!" Tara growled as she pulled her long sleeve shirt off. Throwing the garment onto her bed, she reached behind herself to unclip her bra.

"Wait, I got a question." Faith asked as she pushed herself off of her unkempt bed.

"No Faith, you cannot unclip my bra for me!" Tara half yelled, anger still seeping out of her.

"Not what I was going to ask," Faith said with a slight chuckle as she walked over to their fridge. "Although, I haven't asked you that in quite a while…. so I might tomorrow. Never the less," Faith said as she removed two chilled water bottles, "how were you late for class? You left before I did and I made it to my class on time."

Pulling her sports bra over her head and adjusting it to fit her chest, Tara then turned around to look at her best friend. "I ran into someone, literally. We collided and all my stuff fell on the floor, there in, making me late to class."

"Is that why you wanted to know who Rasenberry was? You want me to beat them up for you?" Faith asked only half-jokingly.

"Rosenberg, and no." Tara corrected as she slipped on her spandex. "I accidently picked up some of her stuff and want to give it back but I have no clue who she is."

"Dude, ask Tim." Faith said flippantly. "He's the head R.A. of Hedsor Hall. Plus, he knows everybody on this crappy campus."

"Why didn't I think of that," Tara said absently as she slid on a pair of socks followed by her shoes. "Thanks Faith."

"No problem T." Faith said as she waited by the door for the blonde to finish getting dressed. "You good to go?"

"All set." Tara said with a smile as she pushed off of her bed, briskly walking to the door. "Let's go row!"

"Hell yeah!" Faith replied equally excited as she closed the door behind them.


	3. Chapter 3

TITLE: Give Her Ten

AUTHOR: mmmh-Hot-Sauce

RATING: R ... May become NC-17 later

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, well, maybe one or two, but as for the rest of them, they are property of ME

SPOILERS: Completely AU

SUMMARY: Tara is the Captain of her College Crew Team and with the help of some friends, they look for new recruits.

FEEDBACK: I would be grateful for any and all comments.

**CHAPTER 3**

"Alright ladies, doing good. You're all half way there," Tara coxed as she walked around the ergs, inspecting the girls as they powered through there 2k workout. "Kate, keep your split time low," Tara pointed out as she stepped to the side of the girl's erg. "I don't want to see it over a 2:10."

Stepping back to the front of the room so all rowers could see her; Tara started to cox them through their last 500 yards. "Remember, fast arms away." She said with a demonstration, pulling her arms to her chest then pushing them forward in a straight fluid movement. "Don't forget to go slow up the slide; this is your chance to catch a breath."

She watched for a few more seconds as the three women in her charge continued to erg with all their might. "Alright everyone, in two, I want a power ten." She said as she started to walk around the room again, inspecting the girl's posture. "Ready? One … two. Power ten! Nine! Eight!..." she continued to count every stroke until she got to one.

"Almost done. This is your last leg of the race. This is your warm up, I want to see everything you got! In two I want another power ten to cross your boat through that finish line." Tara directed, her face red from yelling out commands.

Just like before, Tara counted down the power ten with every stroke made. Once everyone's meter read zero, she instructed them to get a drink and walk around so their legs don't cramp up. Two minutes later, Courtney, the coxswain of the J.V boat and Xander, the captain of the men's team, walked into the room with their group of rowers trailing behind.

"How's it going in here?" asked Courtney as she approached the varsity team.

"Doing pretty freaking good," Faith chimed in as she took sips from her water bottle. "It'd be better if we had a coxswain though so our Captain slash stroke seat can erg with us."

"Still no luck?" Xander asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Not in the slightest." Tara said, defeat evident in her voice. "

"Hey, don't be all gloomy," Xander said as he mocked punch the blonde on the shoulder. "I'm sure someone will come along."

"Let's hope," Tara grumbled as she walked away. Standing in the center of the room she called for all the rowers to circle up so that they could stretch and cool down their bodies.

"Hey, you wanna grab some food?" Faith asked as she buried her hands deep inside the pockets of her sweatpants.

"Sure," Tara responded as she cocked her head sideways to look at the brunette. "So, are you going to go to class tonight or are you gonna ditch again to go to the bar?"

"I don't know," Faith said with a smirk, as she pretended to contemplate the question. "Are you gonna take notes for me?"

"Don't I always take notes for you?" Tare retorted with a raised eyebrow.

"You know I can't read my own hand writing." Faith said with a pout as she jogged up the short flight of stairs leading into Swenson Hall, the cafeteria located directly to the left.

"Nobody can read invisible hand writing Faith," Tara said sarcastically as she opened the door leading inside, gesturing for her friend to step in first. "That's why they call it invisible."

"Watch it Maclay," Faith warned as she handed over her I.D. card to the cafeteria worker, the employee swiping the plastic card and handing it back as the brunette sauntered into the dining hall.

"So, are you going to class tonight?" Tara asked from her reclined positioned on her own bed as she watched Faith gather her shower supplies.

"I don't know T," Faith said as she grimaced, her facial expressions instantly telling Tara everything she needed to know.

"Faith, we have this class once a week." Tara said with dismay. "Do you plan on skipping it every week?"

"No, not every week." Faith said honestly as she flung a brown towel over her right shoulder. "Just often."

"You're unconceivable, you know that." Tara said as she shook her head dismissively.

"I don't know what that means … but, uhh, okay." Faith replied with a cheeky grin as she flung their door open. "See you after class."

"Oh, I'm actually heading to the gym after class," Tara hollered out, causing Faith to stop walking.

Turning around and leaning in the doorway, "You're gonna go back to the gym? You need to get a new hobby babe. We were there for two hours this afternoon. Why don't you come to the bar with me? Who knows, maybe you might meet some nice chick."

"Tempting, but I rather work out." Tara said back, a genuine smile gracing her lips. "I don't really feel like I did much today. What with coxswain everyone and all."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Faith asked as she repositioned her basket of shower supplies against her hip. "I can cox you through your 2k."

"You don't have to," Tara said modestly. "Go have fun."

"Nah, man." Faith waved off. "We're a team. Were you go I happily follow."

"Thanks Faith, I'd appreciate that." Tara replied, her smile beaming.


	4. Chapter 4

TITLE: Give Her Ten

AUTHOR: mmmh-Hot-Sauce

RATING: R ... May become NC-17 later

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, well, maybe one or two, but as for the rest of them, they are property of ME

SPOILERS: Completely AU

SUMMARY: Tara is the Captain of her College Crew Team and with the help of some friends, they look for new recruits.

FEEDBACK: I would be grateful for any and all comments.

**CHAPTER 4**

By 9:30, Tara had already been at the gym for nearly twenty minutes with no sign of Faith. "Great." Tara mumbled as she continued a light, warm up jog on the treadmill. "I can't believe she stood me up."

Shutting down the machine, she hopped off of the treadmill, her eyes scanning across the nearly empty fitness center. As she was about to settle herself onto her favorite erg, the sight of vibrant red hair caught her attention from across the room. Sitting upon a stationary bike with her head buried in a thick Biology book, was an unfamiliar woman that Tara was fairly certain was the girl she ran into earlier that day.

Unstrapping her feet from the erg, Tara stood up and with a bit of hesitance walked over to the redhead. Standing in front of the woman who was completely engrossed in her reading, Tara cleared her throat to get the other girls attention.

Startled by the sudden noise only inches from her, Willow lost her footing on the bike, nearly toppling off of the machine. With wide green eyes, she repositioned herself back onto the bike, simultaneously turning off the machine and looking up at the person who had completely caught her off guard. As her eyes locked onto the oceanic blue ones staring down at her, her breath caught in her throat as the mysterious girl started to talk.

"Uhm, hey, sorry to bother you. You don't know me or anything but, are you Willow Rosenberg?"

"Yu, yeah?" Willow said, her response coming out as more of a question as her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"Oh, hey, great." Tara said with a wide smile. Waving her hands back and forth between herself and the still confused redhead, "Uhm, I'm Tara. We kind of ran into each other this afternoon. "

"Oh! Are – are you okay?" Willow asked nervously as she closed her textbook, unintentionally bringing the book to her chest as a form of protection. "I'm sorry I took off so fast afterwards, I was really, really late for class. You're not like pissed or something, right? You're not looking for some type of payback, are you?"

"What?" Tara asked bewildered. "Willow, no." she said, shaking her head to comfort the petrified girl. "I actually picked up a few of your things on accident. I just wanted to give them back to you. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression."

"Wow, uhmm." Willow laughed nervously as she bashfully scratched the back of her head. "I kind of feel like an idiot now. I mean, I was watching you run over there for a while and you had this really intense look on your face. Kind of like 'nobody better mess with me'", she air quoted as she unintentionally started to ramble, her face and hands becoming extremely animated in the process. "And then all of a sudden you're next to me! And I've got to admit, it's a little intimidating. What with you being all toned with the sexy muscles and me as weak as a wet noodle." Taking a breath to continue on with her ramble, her brain finally caught up with what her mouth spat out. Her eyes widen instantly as she stared at the semi smirking blonde, her face blushing from embarrassment. "And oh my god, I can't believe I just said all that! Now I feel like an even bigger idiot."

"It's okay to feel like an idiot." Tara said with a bemused smile, her head cocked to the side as she intently watched the blushing redhead. "I'm sure everyone does every now and again. I for one know I do at least once a week."

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better," Willow said with a hesitant smile as she nervously chewed on her bottom lip. "But I still feel really stupid for you know … saying …"

"What?" Tara asked with a cheeky smile as she rubbed her hands up and down her biceps. "That I'm sexy and have great muscle tone?"

"Uh yeah, that." Willow admitted, her blush growing further, turning her face and neck completely red. "I'm sorry if ..."

"Trust me; I'm taking that as a great compliment." Tara said, cutting off the other girl's apology. "If anything, it's most likely the highlight of my day. Truthfully, it most likely will be the highlight of my week as well."

"Well, I'm glad I was the uplift of your day." Willow said, giving the blonde a genuine smile. "Uhmm, not to change the subject out of embarrassment or anything, but you said you had a few of my things?"

"Oh yeah!" Tara proclaimed with a broad smile. "I have your enrollment sheet; hopefully you didn't need that to get to your classes today. Which by the way, welcome to Caz College. "

"Yea, it would have been helpful so I knew where my night class was." Willow said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I tried to get a new print out of it after my class, you know, the one I was late to when I ran into you, but the registrations office was already closed for the day."

"That's the registrations office for ya, closed always when you need them. But, uhmm, if you want to swing by my room later tonight I can give you your stuff so you don't have to worry about missing any more classes."

"That would be great, thank you Tara."

"It's no problem Willow. Oh, I also picked up this really worn out book."

"You have my book!" Willow shouted, causing the few people still in the gym to turn their heads towards them.

"Well, uh, yeah." Tara said slowly, her left eyebrow lowering while her right one raised high onto her forehead.

"You didn't read it did you? I mean, it's okay if you read it" she faltered as she chuckled nervously, her right hand flicking at the edge of her text book. "It's fine really."

"No. No I didn't read it," Tara reassured the nervous redhead. "I wouldn't intrude on someone else's privacy like that. Plus, the thing is so worn out I couldn't even make a name out on the cover. You must really love that book."

"I, uh … " She faltered as she tried to come up with something to say to Tara. Settling on the most logical thing, "Thank you."

"Of course." Tara responded demurely with a light head nod. "Well, I'm gonna get back to my workout. I'll see you around Willow." As she got back to her previously unattended rowing machine, she re-strapped her feet back into the foot stretcher with the soul intent of resuming her workout when Willow's meek voice caught her attention.

"Hey Tara," Willow called out quietly, her voice just barely recognizable over the load clinking of dumbbells being jolted around from the various gym-goers. Swiftly clambering off of the stationary bike, her textbook still clasped tightly to her chest, she walked over to the blonde who was gently easing back and forth on the slide, loosing up the muscles in her leg. "Umm, where exactly do you live? So I can get my stuff and all."

"Oh right," Tara said as she looked up into Willow's soulful green eyes, playfully slapping her own forehead. "I live in Swenson Hall. Second floor, above the cafeteria, room 233."

"Okay, that should be easy to remember." Willow said, giving the blonde a genuine smile. She wiggled the digits on her right hand at the machine Tara was currently sitting on before taking a step back, "I guess I will swing by later tonight then. Give you some time to finish, um, whatever this thing is."

"Wait, Willow." Tara called out, stopping the other girls retreat. "This won't take long. I'm only doing a 2k and I plan on doing power tens through most of it so I should be done real quick. My split time will be around 1:50 … so my time will be around seven minutes" Off of the quizzical look she received from the redhead, she shyly bit her lip, her eyes nervously casting around the room. "And I just realized you probably didn't understand a word of that. Sorry. Crew talk. I'll be done here in ten minutes if you want to stick around and come back to my room right after to get your stuff."

"And I thought I rambled on," Willow said good naturally as she smiled at the blonde, letting her know she was just joking.

"Like I told you before, everyone acts like an idiot." Tara replied, a smile on her own face that reciprocated Willow's. "And this right here," she said, flailing her hands about, indicating herself and the machine she was sitting on. "This is my idiotness showing through."

"Well, it looks good on you." Will replied with a glazed over look in her eyes before a blush took over her face yet again. "I mean. I, uh. I … well …" Willow faltered, unsure what to say to make the situation better, or if she should say anything at all in fear that she would only make it worse.

Trying to contain the smirk playing across her face, Tara watched on with great fascination as Willow blunder over her own words. After a few seconds of watching the girl panic over her mild slip up, Tara decided to help ease the redhead's embarrassment by changing the subject. "Hey Willow, do you think you could help me out with something?"

"I'd probably say yes to anything right now if we agree to forget about that little thing I just said." Willow babbled out in one long breath, her eyes wide with mortification.

"What thing?" Tara asked, already silently agreeing to not mention Willow's slip up.

"You know? That thing where I just sai…" It finally dawned on her that she was about to repeat the sentence that originally brought her to this state of embarrassment. Snapping her mouth shut, she smirked at the blonde before nodding her head. "Sure, what do you need?"

"Would you mind coxswaining me?" Tara asked, her bottom lip poked out slightly in a pout "I do better when I have someone shouting out the commands for me."


End file.
